English Translation
I’d like to illustrate why I think it is important to vote with a story which you might find astonishing in the fact that it actually happened.
This story is from when I was a freshman at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Every year, there is an Election Week for Student Body Government. During that time, competing tickets vie for the positions of President and Vice-President. The week includes several events such as debates and “bull sessions” when students get an opportunity to talk about the candidates.
During my freshman year, two slates of candidates were running. The first ticket had a lot of experience, had a history of being involved, presented very intelligent arguments, and loved political discussion. In short, they had a lot going for them. The second ticket had more limited experience and involvement.
During the week, the first ticket was really impressive in their presentations and professional responses to questions. The other ticket seemed to be not quite as prepared. Lots of people felt that the election would be a landslide because the first slate was so much more prepared with things like the budget, and that they simply had more charisma. The other candidates were not?nearly as impressive, so people thought the first ticket would easily win.
Election day, which was on a Thursday, finally rolled around and most of the student body thought the first ticket would win. When I went to vote, I asked the people working the booth if many people had been voting. The response was that it had been a light turnout. But I went ahead and voted.
That night, in the Abbey, which is a dining area, they were ready to announce who won the election. Among much of the crowd, there wasn’t any doubt who would win. That the first set of candidates were by far the favorite. But when the time came to announce the results, it turned out the other set of candidates won. A shock settled over the crowd as people turned to each other in disbelief. The election was decided by only a 52-vote difference. The winning candidates were elated, but the first ticket’s plans for a victory party fell apart in the wake of the results.
In post-election discussions, it turned out many students had decided not to vote because they were so confident that the first ticket would win. They thought that those candidates didn’t need their votes because so many other people would be voting for them. If only 50 more people had decided to make the effort to vote, and I could easily count 60 or 70 people there that night, it could have turned the tide of the election. So, many of the people that night learned a hard lesson.
The next year, with the other candidates as President and Vice-President, there were lots of difficulties. Trouble with student services, money went missing, all sorts of problems. Many students lost their enthusiasm for Student Body Government because of that year’s leadership.
So, if you think your single vote doesn’t matter, it really does. When combined with just a few others, they could be the 52 votes that change the results of an election.
So, that’s why it’s important to vote.